Week #18, March 26-April 1
M Rest
T 3.19
W 3.26
TH Rest
F 7.35
S Ran 11.68
S Ran 4.00
I took it nice and slow on Tuesday. I was actually very tired and seriously questioned why I was out running. My splits were 12:08, 12:38, 12:32.
I almost bought these DD/Saucony Kinvara 4 shoes but they were sold out by the time I made up my mind to buy them.
Wednesday’s run actually felt better. I wore shorts and a new Oiselle top that was sold out but miraculously one became available for me to order.
My left knee is being a jerk and I’ve been using RockTape. I am a little worried because my marathon is in less than a month and I hope I can still run it.
I wrote in a post last week that I entered the lottery for the Marine Corps Marathon. I received an email on Thursday morning letting me know that I got in. I am excited about it and have until Monday evening when I can officially register.
Thursday afternoon was the start of Spring Break. I came home and stayed in bed for a bit. I was very tired. I did not want to run and I didn’t.
Lola was more than happy to cuddle with me.
Since I skipped my run on Thursday, I went on Friday morning. It was a gorgeous day for running! My workout was 1.5 mile warm up, 4 x 1 mile @10:01 with 4 minutes recovery, and 1 mile cool down.
I did pretty good! It was hard. I didn’t look at my pace for the mile repeats (except for the last mile) and ran by feel. The last mile felt ever harder. My legs were tired and the wind was making me even more tired. I did stop about 3 times to catch my breath. I just wanted to finish. When I was done and checked my splits, I saw why I was tired at the end. I was running faster than I should have. But I can honestly say those paces felt hard but not enough for me to stop and walk (except the last mile). Overall, VERY PLEASED with how the run went.
I decided to switch and do my long run (150 minutes) on Saturday, so I could have all day to rest and recover. Mother Nature likes to mess with us. There was rain and lots of wind on the forecast. Sigh.
The original plan was to be out on the lakefront at 7am. I woke up at 7 but stayed in bed and didn’t get up till 9. Then I made pancakes and procrastinated. Then I got ready and by noon was hungry again so I ate a light lunch and watched TV. I was finally out the door st 2:30.
This run was HORRIBLE. It was windy and windy. No matter which direction I turned there was wind. I got tired early in my run and didn’t want to continue. My paces were all over the place. My fastest mile was 11:24 and my slowest was 13:53.
I wanted to quit but didn’t because thanks to Facebook I was reminded of my first ultramarathon 6 years ago. This run felt harder than the race. 🙂 I had to run the first 100 minutes at an easy pace and then the last 50 close to 11:00. Obviously that didn’t happen and I didn’t care. I was just so tired and wanted to be done.
Even if this run sucked, I am happy I didn’t quit. But I don’t know what it worse, quitting on a run or continuing but hating every minute of it. On a positive note, I was also happy because I ended March with 121.43 miles. Yay!!
To end the week I ran 4 miles today. It was cold but surprisingly didn’t feel too cold. I should have done my long run today but I really thought it was going to be very cold today. 
Total mileage for the week: 29.48
Total mileage for this training cycle: 382.29
Total mileage for the year: 303.46
Here’s how training has gone so far:
• Week 1
• Week 2
• Week 3
• Week 4
• Week 5
• Week 6
• Week 7
• Week 8
• Week 9
• Week 10
• Week 11
• Week 12
• Week 13
• Week 14
• Week 15
• Week 16
• Week 17
How was YOUR week?
Link back to the host and let’s support other bloggers linking up as they train for a marathon, half marathon, or any other event.
Shamrock Shuffle 8K Race Recap
Disclaimer: I am promoting the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle 8K as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review, find and write race reviews!
On Sunday I ran my first race of the year – The Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle 8K. It was my 10th time running that race with the first time being in 2006. This race is always a fun one and is the start of the official running season in Chicago.
Saturday morning I went to the expo to pick up my packet. There were hardly any vendors there. It was a very small place for an expo. In previous years it’s been held in a much bigger room. A friend had mentioned that it was a small expo but I had to see it with my own eyes. I was there for about 20 minutes. I was supposed to be in Wave 2, Corral F or G but went to Participant Services and asked to be moved to Wave 1.
I tried kombucha and did not like it.
The shirt and socks are cute!
I bought two Sparkly Soul headbands.
Sunday morning it was another cold morning. I am over this cold weather. I know I’ve run on so many cold days but mentally I am done with it. I want some warm weather!
My cat woke me up at 4:30 am. She didn’t care that I wanted to sleep in till 6 because I had a race. She just wanted to eat. I got up, got ready, had a protein bar with coffee, and drove to the train station. I was supposed to meet the Oiselle gals at the Hilton Chicago for a group photo.
After the photo I left to use the bathroom again Then I walked to the race to drop off my gear and do a 20 minute warm up. I was also supposed to meet Wendy since we were both in the same corral. Unfortunately I didn’t meet up with her. I did my warm up but had to cut it short by 1 minute because I was supposed to be at the corral entrance by 8:20 and I was afraid that I would be too late. I wasn’t. There were so many people still trying to get in after 8:20.
Even though it was sunny, it was still VERY COLD.
I waited in my corral for 15 minutes before I began running. I removed the auto lap function on my watch because the buildings always seem to mess up the satellite signal.
I felt good for 3 miles (10:19, 9:31, 9:44). I ran nonstop. I didn’t stop for any water or Gatorade. I had 3 layers on and was not cold. I remember last year it was windy but this time it wasn’t too bad. Mile 4 (10:23) is when I began to get tired and walked a bit. I told myself to slow down instead of walking but that didn’t happen. I was surprised at how well I did for mile 5 (10:06) because I walked the small hill that is right before the finish line, and once I made it to the top, I ran as fast as I could.
Finish time is 50:03.
My PR is 48:38 from 2014. You bet that over the years I’ve been wanting to better that time. Last year my finish time was 56:26. I am pleased that I bettered my time by more than 6 minutes. To me that is a HUGE accomplishment!
After my run I did a 20 minute cool down. Then I went to get my bag and some pizza because I was hungry. I checked out the beer tent but had no desire to drink beer. Everyone there was having a good time.
I was about to leave when a friend saw me. I ended up talking to her while she waited for the rest of her family. They were going out for breakfast and I decided to go with them.
We walked to the train station and I got VERY COLD again. Once on the train I was still cold and decided to just go home. I needed to get out of my wet clothes and take a hot shower.
Thanks to Athlinks I have a summary of all of my finish times for the Shamrock Shuffle 8K. Have you checked out Athlinks? If you haven’t, do so soon and you’ll have access to dates and times for ALL for all of your races.
I am happy I did this race. It is one of my favorite races. I will admit that I was a bit disappointed that I didn’t PR because I’ve been doing so well in my training for the Illinois Marathon. However, I will not dwell on it anymore but instead be happy with how well I did on Sunday.
Linking up with Marcia, Patti, and Erika for Tuesdays on the Run.
Illinois Marathon Training Recap, Week 17
Week #17, March 19-25
M Rest
T 3.71
W 3.39
TH 5.48
F Rest
S Ran 2.04
S Ran 8.25
I had parent/teacher conferences on Tuesday. I didn’t have to be at school till 11 am but I still like to get there early. I did my run in the morning and then met my coworker for breakfast. Conferences went well. I have 24 students and 22 parents showed up so that is definitely a win!
I almost didn’t run on Wednesday. I was tired. I came and stayed in bed for a few minutes. I did feel a little better so I went out for my run. I am glad I did. It felt great being out there!
I had another great quality workout on Thursday (15 minute warm up, 8×2 minute @9:45 with 3 minute recovery, and 10 minute cool down). Runs like these intimidate me but also leave me leaving feeling much more confident about my training. I felt strong and the pace didn’t feel too hard.
Saturday morning I ran for 25 minutes before going to the Shamrock Shuffle 8K Expo. I wasn’t impressed with it. I was there for about 20 minutes and I bought two Sparkly Soul headbands. I almost bought a tiara headband but my friend told me I didn’t need it. 🙂
On Sunday I ran the Shamrock Shuffle 8K – my first race of the year! Total mileage for it was 8.25 miles. I did 19 minutes of warm up (I had to do 20 minutes but had to be at the corral entrance by 8:20 am). Then ran for 5.11 miles and then ran a 20 minute cool down. I was cold when I wasn’t running even with 3 layers. Today wasn’t a PR but I did better my time from last year by more than 6 minutes.
Total mileage for the week: 22.88
Total mileage for this training cycle: 352.81
Total mileage for the year: 273.98
Here’s how training has gone so far:
• Week 1
• Week 2
• Week 3
• Week 4
• Week 5
• Week 6
• Week 7
• Week 8
• Week 9
• Week 10
• Week 11
• Week 12
• Week 13
• Week 14
• Week 15
• Week 16
How was YOUR week?
Link back to the host and let’s support other bloggers linking up as they train for a marathon, half marathon, or any other event.
Illinois Marathon Training Recap, Week 16
Week #16, March 12-18
M Rest
T 3.77
W 2.51
TH 5.83
F Rest
S Ran 3.78
S Ran 13.00
I spent all day Tuesday in a meeting. It was a long day and the last thing I wanted to do after school was run. We also got more snow. Not a lot but seriously crazy weather. Oh but at least it isn’t as bad as on the east coast.
I currently have 4 pairs of shoes in rotation. They’re all Brooks Launch 4, except the green shoes on the lower right, those are the Launch 5.
On Wednesday it was warm enough to wear shorts. Spring is so close!
Thursday’s run was fun but also hard! I had to do 15 minute warm up, 5×5 minute @10:02 pace with 400m recovery, and 10 minute cool down. I was nervous but knew I could do it. The first three 5 minute reps felt comfortable. The last two felt hard because of the wind. I tried to keep going but just couldn’t take it anymore. When I saw my splits I realized that I was also running too fast.
I wanted to do these without stopping but with the last two I did stop for a few seconds to catch my breath. I feel like I cheated. 🙂 Overall, I am very pleased with my negative splits!!
I thought Saturday’s run was 45 minutes but instead it was supposed to be 40 minutes. Oh well. It was in the high 30s and I felt great out there. I didn’t realize how tired I was and ended up taking a nap from 3-4pm. Lola was very tired too from running around all day.
I have mixed feelings about today’s long run (13 miles-4 warm up, 6 @10:45 pace, 3 cool down). I understand the benefits of tempo runs but I still dislike them. I always have a hard time holding the pace. Today’s run felt hard.
Hanging out with Lola before making myself go out for my run. It was a beautiful and warm afternoon.
I took one Huma Gel (affiliate link) before my run. They’re my new favorite gels. The originals are tasty but I also love the plus which have a natural electrolyte. I took 3 extra ones and ended up taking one at mile 4 and then another one at mile 8.
I was smiling at the end of my run because I was done with it. But deep down I was sore and tired. And full of doubt. As you can see, I did hit my target pace but tempo runs are supposed to be run without stopping and I didn’t do that here. There were a few times that the pace felt comfortable, which was surprising, but there were times in which I was barely hanging on and had to stop. A few times I wanted to quit too. The reason I didn’t is because it was a very nice day for a run. I’ve been complaining about how cold it has been and today it was just perfect. So of course I couldn’t stop!
Total mileage for the week: 28.89
Total mileage for this training cycle: 329.93
Total mileage for the year: 251.11
Here’s how training has gone so far:
• Week 1
• Week 2
• Week 3
• Week 4
• Week 5
• Week 6
• Week 7
• Week 8
• Week 9
• Week 10
• Week 11
• Week 12
• Week 13
• Week 14
• Week 15
How was YOUR week?
Link back to the host and let’s support other bloggers linking up as they train for a marathon, half marathon, or any other event.
Illinois Marathon Training Recap, Week 15
Week #15, March 5-11
M Rest
T 3.36
W 5.21
TH 3.35
F Rest
S Ran 3.00
S Ran 12.01
Tuesday’s run was fantastic! I received a new pair of the Brooks Launch 5 and ran 40 minutes in them. I know I’ve raved about the Launch 4 but these new ones are so beautiful and makes me want to keep on running.
On Wednesday I had to do 20 minutes warm up, 20 minutes @11:58, and 20 minutes cool down. Not very exciting but did it anyway. It was cold/chilly and windy. I didn’t do my run exactly like I was supposed to.
By Thursday I was tired. I didn’t want to run. I got home and stayed in bed for a little bit. I think I just needed a quick break because a few minutes later I got up to run 40 minutes. Cold and windy again. I did see a gorgeous sunset!
Saturday morning I got a massage. The last time I got one was about 5 months ago. It felt so great! I could literally feel the tingling from my toes to my fingertips. I made another appointment for the 24th and cannot wait.
After my massage I ran 3 miles. I was supposed to run 35 minutes. At 35 minutes my watch was showing about 2.97 miles or something like that. I knew it would drive me crazy if I stopped at that number so I kept running and finished 3 miles at 35:16. 🙂
Congrats to my coaches, Mary and Rochelle! Mary placed 2nd in the RnR DC 5k and Rochelle placed 1st in the marathon.
Sunday’s run was 12 miles. I procrastinated as long as I could and finally went out running around 3:30pm. The plan was to run them at an easy pace (11:58-13:06). Usually when I do easy runs I am TIRED and am grateful that it is “just” 30, 40, or 45 minutes. I was nervous about 12 miles. But I can say that I felt GREAT during my run. The sun made it warm and there was a little wind which helped cool me down a bit. Only 2 miles were done over 12:00 and that made me very happy!
Total mileage for the week: 26.93
Total mileage for this training cycle: 301.04
Total mileage for the year: 222.22
Here’s how training has gone so far:
• Week 1
• Week 2
• Week 3
• Week 4
• Week 5
• Week 6
• Week 7
• Week 8
• Week 9
• Week 10
• Week 11
• Week 12
• Week 13
• Week 14
How was YOUR week?
Link back to the host and let’s support other bloggers linking up as they train for a marathon, half marathon, or any other event.